Iris Johansen - Quinn

She shook her head. “My mind is spinning. Start at the beginning.”

“The beginning.” He pulled her up and toward the back door. “We’ll start here.” He threw open the door. “What do you see?”

She looked at him in confusion. “Fence, flowers, lawn.”

“A nice lawn. Pretty flowers. Did you put in the landscaping after you moved in?”

“No, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. It was already established. I just took over the care of it.”

“But you were offered a maintenance contract by the landscape company who does most of the rest of the neighborhood.”

She nodded. “The price wasn’t too bad, but I’m a student and work two jobs. I can cut my own lawn.” She frowned. “Where is this leading?”

“It’s leading to the fact that there was a landscape-maintenance crew in your neighborhood several times a month. Including five of the homes on this block. That’s why all the lawns and gardens look so well kept.”

Her eyes widened. “Yes…”

“And all the houses of the victims’ parents that we visited had the same nice lawns. They all had that in common if nothing else. Such a little thing…”

“The landscape company?” Eve repeated. “Is that what you’re saying? He works for the landscape company?”

“It would be the perfect opportunity for him to observe possible victims playing in the neighborhoods where he was working. He could take his pick of the children.”

“Are you guessing?”

“Yes, but I’m betting I’m right. In the trunk of the car where he was hiding last night, there was blood, but there was also a scraping of something that looked like dirt. It wasn’t dirt; under testing, it proved to be fertilizer. It was a common brand used by most landscapers in the area. I contacted the company in Toronto that manufactured the shoes from which we got that print in the cave. Heavy rubber content. The company said that it sold those shoes almost exclusively to professional gardeners and irrigation specialists.”

“And last night on the phone Zeus said something about liking plants and flowers better than he liked people,” Eve said. “I didn’t think anything about it.” She moistened her lips. “But you did.”

“Only because it was all coming together for me.”

“This landscaping company…” She lifted her hand to her cheek. “I know I’ve seen their truck in the neighborhood, but I can’t even remember the name.”

“Johnston and Son. They service every one of the subdivisions of the kidnapped children. It’s a big company, and they have branches all over the Northeast as well as the South. The operations are extensive in Georgia. It wouldn’t have been a stretch for Zeus to have killed those children who disappeared outside Atlanta.” He paused. “But the company is based in Toronto, Canada. I checked with Johnston and Son personnel in Toronto, and the only workers they have in Georgia who were hired in Canada are Novak and Fraser.”

“What difference does that make? Zeus is Canadian?”

“I couldn’t tell on that first phone call, but on the second he was talking about your house. McVey was right, the pronunciation is different. Novak is Canadian. Fraser is a U.S. citizen, but raised in Toronto.”

Her hands clenched as she looked out at yard. “It makes… sense.”

“Yes.”

“And this man could have been working on one of the yards on the block and watching Bonnie. I could have passed him when I went to the bus stop to meet her.”

“It’s possible,” he said gently.

“If he killed her. I can’t be certain. I won’t be certain.”

But it was coming close to the time when the truth would be thrust upon her, Joe thought. “The only thing I have to be certain about right now is catching the son of a bitch.”

“You said you were going to pay him a visit. Where is he?”

“The crew Novak and Fraser are on is working at Nottingham Subdivision in Towne Lake today.” He turned. “I’m on my way there now. I’ve changed cars so that Zeus won’t recognize it. I just wanted to stop and let you know what was happening.”

“You didn’t send the police to pick them up?”

“They’ll be there outside the subdivision. First, I have to make sure I locate him before he gets spooked by the squad cars pulling into the subdivision. The crew doesn’t all work on the same house. He could be anywhere in the area.”

“But you’d recognize him. You saw the sketch I drew of him.” She paused. “And I’d recognize him.”

“Yes, you would,” he said quietly. “But he’d also recognize you. I know where this is going, Eve.”

“Of course he’d recognize me. But that’s no argument. We both know while he was doing surveillance on this house that he saw you. If he spots you, he’ll take off.”

“You want to go with me.”

She met his gaze. “And you want me to go. Why else did you stop here before going after him? You may have told yourself you just wanted to keep me informed, but that’s bullshit. You knew I had to go. You know I deserve to go.”

“I don’t want you hurt,” he said roughly. “I don’t want him to touch you.”

“And that makes it hard to do the right thing. That’s why you’re lying to yourself. You promised we’d do this together.” She threw back her head and stared him in the eye. “Do you want me to make it easier? If you walk out that door without me, I’ll be at Nottingham Subdivision before you get there. If you take me, I’ll stay in the car. But I have to be there. I have to see him captured. I want to see his face when he knows that he’s not Zeus any longer.”

She was right. He had known that it would come down to this when he had come here. They had taken this journey together, and he couldn’t leave her behind now. He just couldn’t admit it to himself because it caused him to break out in a cold sweat at the idea of letting her come that close to Zeus. Yet he had to admit it and drown that fear because he could not cheat her.

“Joe?”

His hand closed on hers. It was a soft, graceful hand belying the strength that lay beneath that fragile surface. His grasp tightened. “You stay in the car,” he said hoarsely as he led her toward the door. “Unless you want to drive me crazy, you stay in the car.”

NOTTINGHAM SUBDIVISION WAS an upper-middle-class neighborhood that had been built within the last ten years and had all the amenities. Including a homeowners’ association that demanded the homeowners pay to keep the verdant lawns and shrubs meticulously maintained.

And Johnston and Son had a truck that was parked close to the clubhouse and swimming pool.

Joe parked across the road from the clubhouse, his gaze raking the surrounding area. “There’s a man in the truck, but I don’t see any workers.” He got out of the car. “I’ll go ask questions. Lock the door.”

“You think the man in the truck is a supervisor?”

“He’s not doing hard labor. That’s a good sign.”

She frowned. “Aren’t you going to call the police waiting outside the gate to assist?”

“As soon as I can point the way to Zeus.” He crossed the road and drew out the photos of the sketches of Zeus as he approached the truck.

“May I help you?” The man in the truck smiled politely at Joe. “Les Cavanaugh. I run this crew. I know we’re a little late coming to do the maintenance this week, but we got behind because of the rain. We’ll get to your yard as soon as we can.”

Joe showed his ID. “FBI. You can help me with an identification. You have an employee working for you who we have an interest in questioning.”

Cavanaugh stiffened warily. “What for? Look, we got rid of that joker who was planting marijuana in some of the flower beds. We don’t stand for anything like that.”